Man admits to participating in robbery, dressed in a skeleton costume

Man admits to staged robbery in skeleton costume

A Winnipeg man has admitted to participating in a "staged" armed robbery inside a Lockport fast-food restaurant while wearing a skeleton mask and matching costume.

Drew Kowal, 23, was given three months in jail Monday in addition to six months of time already served. He was also put on supervised probation for three years.

Kowal and a co-accused stormed inside the A and W location just north of Winnipeg in October 2006 and stole several thousand dollars, court was told. Kowal later told police that a large group of friends – including two women who were working at the time of the heist – had planned the incident out ahead of time.

However, police only ended up charging Kowal and his primary partner-in-crime - who pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to a year in jail. The two employees claim they were truly victimized and didn’t know about any robbery plan.

Kowal was released on bail but got re-arrested last October after selling an undercover police officer three rocks of crack cocaine in exchange for $60. Police say he was working as a street-level "dial-a-dealer" in the inner-city.

Defence lawyer Les Kee told court Monday his client resorted to dealing drugs to help support himself financially after losing his job following his robbery arrest.

"He didn’t even have any food for himself – or his cat," said Kee.

Man jailed for role in 'staged' heist
When is a robbery a theft? When the robbery is faked, a court heard Monday.
Drew Kowal previously pleaded guilty to one count of theft over $5,000 for his part in the “staged robbery” of a Lockport A & W restaurant.
Court heard Kowal, 23, was one of four men who carried out the fake robbery with the help of two female employees on Oct. 23, 2006.
Kowal was on bail for that offence when, on Oct. 25, 2009, police arrested him in the course of a cocaine “dial-a-dealer” investigation.
Kowal pleaded guilty Monday to trafficking in cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking and breaching a recognizance.
Justice Chris Martin sentenced Kowal to one year in jail, minus nine months for time served, to be followed by three years supervised probation. Martin also ordered Kowal to complete 75 hours of community service work.

I am confused as to what this man was sentenced for.. was this sentence for the robbery or for the drug dealing? I would also like to know more about this man's background life and if he has previous convictions, etc. From this article, there is no indication that this man has a violent, previous criminal history or that he is a high risk to re-offend. He has already served 7 months and I believe only the worst, most dangerous and high risk offenders should be held in prisons. This man, is not one of them, in my opinion. 

Either way, I am left wondering what effect a 3 month prison sentence will have on this man. Is there a reason he is being sentenced to prison at all? Because we all should know that deterrence is not effective and that prison in general, is not effective. This will only cause further overcrowding and if community sanctions have been proven to be more effective in reducing and preventing crime, then we should be relying less on prison sentences and adhering more to the least restrictive method.  Short stints in prison have generally been shown to be ineffective. Plus, this man has already served 6 months in remand custody. I think that is enough prison time.

It is definitely a mitigating factor that he sold drugs to support himself financially. He did not have criminal intentions in mind. 

I agree with the portion of the sentence allocated to probation. Personally, I would have sentenced this man to a 2 year conditional sentence. I would order him to participate in victim-offender mediation so he could truly understand the consequences of his actions, employment training and assistance so he doesn't have to resort to criminal methods in order to support himself. I think that 6 months of remand, is long enough.

Mitigating Factors	Aggravating Factors
Pleaded guilty	Armed robbery
Sold drugs to support himself financially after losing job following robbery arrest	Possession of cocaine (separate incident) sold to undercover policeman
Already served 6 months in remand custody

   

Time served for scarring friend's face

Time served for scarring friend's face

An 18-year-old Arborg woman who disfigured a friend’s face with a broken beer bottle was sentenced Thursday to 14 months time served.

Kara Stoyanowski previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and two counts of breaching a recognizance in connection with the May 3, 2009 attack.

The 21-year-old victim “will bear the marks of this for the rest of her life,” said Crown attorney Adam Bergen. “Unlike a scar in a less visible place ... it will be the first thing that people notice about her for the rest of her life.”

Court heard Stoyanowski was at a drinking party at the Arborg trailer park when an argument over Stoyanowski’s boyfriend turned into a shoving match with the 21-year-old victim.

Stoyanowski broke a beer bottle over the woman’s head, knocking her to the ground. She then slashed her face and shoulder with the broken bottle.

The woman was taken to Arborg hospital and quickly transferred to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg for plastic surgery. According to a doctor’s report, the woman’s facial wounds cut through the muscle, nearly to the bone. She suffers ongoing nerve damage and will require further plastic surgery, court heard.

Stoyanowski was released on bail following the attack but returned to custody after she was caught breaking her curfew and drinking.

According to a pre-sentence report, the victim at one time was Stoyanowski’s “best friend.” Judge Bob Heinrichs sentenced Stoyanowski to an additional two years supervised probation and ordered that she participate in victim offender mediation.

“If that is true, that (the victim) was once your best friend, that’s an opportunity to try and repair some of the damage you’ve done, emotionally at least,” Heinrichs said.

I think this article is well written for the first part. However, it seems to be missing more details of the events leading up to the attack, if the victim provoked the offender, and what factors of the offender's life may have influenced this crime (addictions, etc.) and whether she was a first time offender or not. By not including this information, leads ppl to the conclusion that this was a senseless and violent attack, when there may have been factors leading up to it. By only focusing on the violent aspects of this crime, brings readers to the impression and perception that this sentence was too lenient, when really it wasn't as she had already spent 14 months in prison. This article does not explore many mitigating factors, influencing the judge's decision such as remorse, etc.

I do agree with the sentence of time served. I think that the victim/offender mediation is a great idea and hope it is helpful for this woman. I'm glad the judge focused more on rehabilitation in this case and not on further imprisonment. 

I do agree that it was the right decision in taking her into custody for breaching her bail conditions, to protect others' safety.  

Man shot by police sentenced to 6 more months in prison

Man shot by police to spend six more months in jail
Courts man shot by police, sent to prison

A Winnipeg man shot by police following a domestic violence incident has been sentenced to 30 months in custody.

Matthew Prince, 25, pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of breaching a recognizance and one count of forcible entry in connection with the February 2009 incident.

Court heard police confronted Prince on the street minutes after he attacked his girlfriend and her grandmother at their Ashburn Street home.

Armed with two knives, Prince advanced on officers, yelling “Kill me, kill me,” Crown attorney Paul Girdlestone told court.

When Prince refused police demands to drop the knives he was shot in the shoulder and groin.

Defence lawyer Mike Cook said Prince later apologized to police for his actions and said he did not blame them for shooting him.

Cook recommended Judge Ted Lismer sentence Prince to time served. Cook said Prince has already paid a heavy price for his actions and suffered a lengthy and painful recovery in jail.

“Mr. Prince lived in fear every single day that someone would poke him in the shoulder or poke him in the groin,” Cook said.

The night before he was shot, Prince spent several hours drinking and consuming cocaine with his girlfriend at her Ashburn Street home. Prince left the house about midnight following a heated argument.

Prince re-entered the home early the next morning, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and pulled his girlfriend from her bed. The woman ran to her grandmother’s bedroom for help. Prince stabbed his girlfriend once in the arm and shoved her grandmother into a wall before a male family member intervened and forced Prince out of the house.

A pre-sentence report assessed Prince as a very high risk to reoffend, due largely to his history of drug and alcohol abuse.

Girdlestone said he was willing to recommend Prince be sentenced to time served if he agreed to complete a residential treatment program for substance abuse. Prince said he would only participate in a residential treatment program if an assessment determined it was necessary.

Prince received double-time credit of 24 months for time served, leaving six months remaining on his sentence. Lismer sentenced him to an additional three years supervised probation.

A Winnipeg man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for a drunken, drug-induced rampage that ended with police shooting him twice.
Matthew Prince, 25, was struck in the arm and groin after he refused to drop two large butcher knives while walking towards two officers in February 2009. He had stabbed his girlfriend moments earlier after breaking into her home in the middle of the night.
Crown attorney Paul Girdlestone told court Friday that Prince ignored repeated demands to drop his weapons.
"As he was closing in on officers, Mr. Prince was yelling 'Kill me, kill me,' " Girdlestone said.
Defence lawyer Mike Cook said his client wasn't thinking clearly after consuming numerous beers and a large quantity of cocaine in the hours preceding the confrontation.
"It was not his intention at the end of the day to injure the police officers," Cook said. Prince offered an apology to the officers for forcing them to shoot him, court was told.
Prince's girlfriend was not seriously injured after being stabbed in the arm. The pair had been partying earlier that night, even though Prince was out on bail on an assault charge and was forbidden from contacting her.
Girdlestone said the pair began arguing while at the woman's grandmother's house. The girlfriend kicked Prince out of the home and threw his beer and clothing onto the front yard.
Prince waited several hours before returning to the Ashburn Street home around 6:30 a.m. He kicked down the door, went to his girlfriend's bedroom and began assaulting her. He also shoved her grandmother into a wall before finally being overpowered and removed from the home by her uncle.
Police arrived within minutes and found the knife-wielding Prince outside the home. Police briefly considered using a Taser but were forced to shoot when he got within a few feet of them, court was told.
Prince dropped to the ground after being shot twice and was handcuffed and rushed to hospital, where he was treated for several days. One bullet went through his arm, breaking it, while the other pierced both his upper thighs and went through his groin.
"There was a great amount of damage to him," Cook said. "Mr. Prince has gone through a pretty unique experience. There are not many people who can talk about being shot, not once but twice, and having survived."
Prince, who has a lengthy record, will spend only four months in prison after receiving double-time credit for the 13 months he has already served.

I think that 6 more months in prison is appropriate considering the amount of time this man has already served and the experience of being shot twice that he has had to endure. More importantly, in my opinion, he needs to receive help for his alcohol and drug problem and should participate in the residential treatment program, once released from prison.